The War of the Worlds / Война миров. Уровень 2

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Chapter 8

Friday Night

In London, poor Henderson’s telegram that was describing the gradual unscrewing of the shot was judged to be a canard[13 - was judged to be a canard – была принята за утку]. The newspaper wired for authentication from him and received no reply – the man was killed – so they decided not to print a special edition.

Even within the five-mile circle the people were inert. All over the district people were dining and supping. Working men were gardening after the labours of the day.

Children were going to bed. Young people were wandering through the lanes. Students sat over their books.

Maybe there was a murmur in the village streets, and somebody caused a whirl of excitement; but for the most part the daily routine of working, eating, drinking, sleeping, went on – as though no planet Mars existed in the sky. Even at Woking station and Horsell and Chobham nothing changed.

In Woking junction, trains were stopping and going on. Passengers were waiting, and everything was proceeding in the most ordinary way.

A boy from the town was selling papers with the afternoon’s news, “Men from Mars!” Excited men came into the station about nine o’clock with incredible tidings. But they caused no more disturbance than drunkards.

A curious crowd lingered restlessly. The crowd remained on the Chobham and Horsell bridges. One or two adventurous souls went into the darkness and crawled quite near the Martians. But they never returned.

That big area was silent and desolate. The charred bodies lay threr all night under the stars, and all the next day. Many people heard some noise from the pit.

It was Friday night. Here and there was a burning bush or a tree. Beyond was a fringe of excitement. In the rest of the world, life was going on.

All night long the Martians were hammering and stirring at work upon the machines. Sometimes a puff of greenish-white smoke whirled up to the sky.

About eleven some soldiers came through Horsell, and formed a cordon.

Later the soldiers marched through Chobham to cover the north side of the pit. Several officers from the Inkerman barracks arrived. Major Eden was missing.

The colonel of the regiment came to the Chobham bridge. He questioned the crowd at midnight. The military authorities understood the seriousness of the business. About eleven, a squadron of hussars and about four hundred men of the Cardigan regiment started from Aldershot.